Storing/transporting energy

ABSTRACT

An installation for storing and/or transporting energy comprises a charging station, a discharging station and a reactor part ( 1 ). The reactor part is designed to be part of a chemical heat pump and contains an active substance. It is also arranged to be capable of being connected to the charging station for charging, i.e. transfer of the active substance to a charged state, and to the discharging station for discharging, i.e. transfer of the active substance to a discharged state. In the reactor part a matrix for the active substance can in one embodiment be provided, so that the active substance both in its solid and its liquid state is held or carried or bonded by the matrix. The matrix is advantageously an inert material such as aluminium oxide and has pores, which are permeable for the volatile liquid and in which the active substance is located. In particular, a material can be used that has a surface or surfaces, at which the active substance can be bonded in the liquid state thereof. For example, the matrix can be a material comprising separate particles such as a powder or a compressed fibre material. The installation can also be used for production of the volatile liquid in a purified form.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority and benefit from Swedish patentapplication No. 0702649-5, filed Nov. 29, 2007, the entire teachings ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. Also, the presentapplication has some material in common with the published Internationalpatent application No. WO 2007/139476.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to installations and methods for storingand/or transporting energy, also together with a simultaneouspurification of a volatile liquid.

BACKGROUND

Considering the increasing amounts of emission of greenhouse gases it isimportant to generally change, as much as possible, all energyproduction so that it does not result in CO₂-emission. An apparentmethod for reducing the emission is to use waste heat from mainly theindustry, in particular process industry and similar activities. InSweden a total use of such energy could more than halve the emissions bysupplying heat or cooling to rooms and buildings from energy that isotherwise wasted.

However, the technical and economic challenges are generally known thatexist in collecting the large amounts of reject heat produced e.g. inindustrial processes. Technically, a device for collecting such energymust be capable of handling high temperatures and a varying supply ofenergy.

In addition, to use such energy in an economically acceptable way itmust be possible to transfer it to a storage medium in which it can bestored with a sufficiently large energy density both per weight unit andvolume unit of the storage medium. In for example the publishedInternational patent applications WO 00/37864 and WO 2005/054757chemical heat pumps are described in the accumulators of which, in theircharged state, energy can be said to be stored, in some meaning, tothereupon, in the discharging state, be delivered as heating or cooling.

The principle of the function of the chemical heat pump is well known,see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,440,889, 5,056,591, 4,993,239,4,754,805 and the published International Patent Applications WO94/21973, WO 00/31206, WO 00/37864 and WO 2005/054757. In a chemicalheat pump an active substance is provided that performs the very processof the heat pump and that works together with a volatile medium, theabsorbent, which usually is a dipolar liquid, in most cases water. Asthe working active substance can, according to the prior art, either asolid substance, a liquid substance or a “hybrid substance” be used. By“solid” active substance is meant that the substance all the time,during the whole process and all cycles remains in a solid state, i.e.both with and without a volatile medium absorbed therein. By a “liquid”active substance is meant that the substance all the time, during thewhole process and all cycles, remains in a liquid state, i.e. both withand without a volatile medium absorbed therein. By a “hybrid” substanceis meant that the active substance during the process in the heat pumpis alternating between a solid state and a liquid state.

For a solid active substance, advantages are obtained that include thatthe cooling temperature in the system in which the heat pump isincorporated remains constant during the whole discharging process andthat a relatively large storage capacity can be obtained. A typicalvalue of the storing capacity for a solid substance using water as theabsorbent, taken as cooling energy, is about 0.3 kWh/1 substance.Another advantage associated with the use of a solid substance is thatno moving components are required in the system. Heat is supplied to ordrawn from the substance through a lamellar heat exchanger or a plateheat exchanger that is in a homogeneous contact with the substance.Hence, in the chemical heat pump described in the cited patentapplication WO 00/31206 no moving components are provided on the processside. The disadvantage associated with a solid substance is the limitedpower that can be obtained due to the generally low heat conductivity ofsolid substances. In the same patent application, among other things, amethod is described for solving the problem associated with the bad heatconductivity of solid substances and the low power/efficiency resultingtherefrom. The method includes that the solid substance is silted up inthe sorbate to form a slurry having such a consistency that it can beeasily filled around or into a heat exchanger. The amount of sorbate inthe slurry should exceed the concentration of sorbate that will laterexist in the discharged state of the heat pump. Thereafter, when thesubstance is charged it obtains a final sintered shape, a so calledmatrix, which is not dissolved in the normal absorption of sorbate inthe operation of the heat pump.

For the use of a liquid substance the advantage of a high power isobtained since the substance can be sprayed over the heat exchanger inboth the charging and the discharging processes and hence be efficientlycooled and heated, respectively. The disadvantage associated with asolid substance is that the cooling capacity decreases as a function ofthe dilution of the absorbent. Actually, it limits strongly theoperating interval within which the substance can be used, this in turnreducing the storage capacity, taken as above as cooling energy perlitre substance. Most of the liquid substances for use in chemical heatpumps are solutions of strongly hygroscopic inorganic salts inpreferably water and similarly water is used as the absorbent. Thisgives another limitation due the fact that the dissolved substancecannot be allowed to crystallize. Crystallization creates problems inspray nozzles and pumps.

By using a so called hybrid substance several of the advantagesassociated with solid and liquid systems can be combined, see theInternational Patent Application WO 00/37864 cited above. The chemicalheat pump disclosed in this patent application operates according to aspecial procedure that can be called the hybrid principle, the hybridmethod or the hybrid process. In that process, the substance exists bothin a solid and a liquid state during the process, the solid phase beingused for storing energy, with as large an energy density as in solidsystems whereas the heat exchange to and from the substance is only madein the liquid phase of the substance with as large an efficiency as incommon liquid systems. Only the liquid phase is used for heat exchangeto the surroundings. A condition thereof is that the solid and liquidphases can be kept to separated during the process. A separation can beobtained by filtering using a separating means of a suitable kind, suchas a net or a fitter or in some other way. The liquid phase, oftencalled the “solution”, is pumped and sprayed over a heat exchanger. Asin the case of systems using only a solution, i.e. with a substance thatall time is liquid, it is important that the pumps, valves and spraynozzles of hybrid systems are not blocked by crystals in the circulationpath.

Thus generally, the solid system has in this regard an apparentadvantage since it does not require any pumps, valves and spray nozzles.

In FIG. 1 a a chemical heat pump is generally shown in a schematic way,the heat pump designed for producing cooling or heat and workingaccording to the hybrid process described in the cited InternationalPatent Application WO 00/37864. The heat pump includes a first container1 or accumulator including a more or less dissolved substance 2 that canexothermically absorb or endothermically desorb a sorbate. The firstcontainer 1 is connected to a second container 3, also calledcondenser/evaporator, through a pipe 4. The second container 3 works asa condenser for condensing gaseous sorbate 6 to form liquid sorbate 5during endothermic desorption of the substance 2 in the first container1 and as an evaporator of liquid sorbate 5 to form gaseous sorbate 6during exothermal absorption of the sorbate in the substance 2 in thefirst container 1. The substance 2 in the accumulator 1 is in heatconducting contact with a first heat exchanger 7 located therein whichcan in turn through a liquid flow 8 be supplied with heat from ordeliver heat to the surroundings. The liquid 5 in theevaporator/condenser part 3 is similarly in a heat conducting contactwith a second heat exchanger 9 located therein to or from which heat canbe supplied or delivered from or to the surroundings, respectively,through a heat flow 10. In order that the heat pump will work accordingto the hybrid principle the first heat exchanger 7 together with thesubstance 2 in the solid state thereof is enclosed in a fine-meshed netor filter 11. Solution that is the liquid state of the substance existsin the lower portion of the accumulator 1 and is there collected in afree space 12 located beneath the first heat exchanger 7. From thisspace solution can through a conduit 13 and a pump 14 be sprayed overthe first heat exchanger 7.

To sum up, the following is true:

-   -   In a system working with a solid substance a constant cooling        temperature is obtained since the reaction occurs between two        phase states of the substance. Both of these two phase states        are solid and maintain, in a transformation from one of the        states to the other state, a constant reaction pressure of the        absorbent. The reaction pressure remains constant until all of        the substance has been transformed from the first state to the        second state. The disadvantage of the system is the very low        heat conductivity and the low power resulting therefrom. Its        advantages include that it works without any moving parts, has a        high storage capacity and a constant reaction pressure.    -   In a system working with a hybrid substance the first phase is,        when the absorbent is absorbed by the substance, i.e. in the        discharge process, solid whereas the second phase is liquid and        then in the same way as above, a constant reaction pressure of        the absorbent is maintained. The substance will then        successively continuously change from a solid to a liquid state        at the same time as a constant cooling temperature is obtained.        The process continues with a constant reaction pressure until        all of the substance has changed from its solid to its liquid        state. In the same way the reaction pressure is constant in the        charging process when the substance changes from a liquid to a        solid state. The storage capacity and the reaction pressure are        equivalent to those for a solid substance. The method used in        systems working with a hybrid substance in order to obtain a        high power is to work with solutions in the same way as in a        system working with a liquid substance. Liquid is pumped from        the substance container through a system for separating crystals        to a spraying system by which the solution is sprinkled over the        heat exchanger that forms a separate unit in the reactor.

Storing thermal energy in thermochemical units containing e.g. silicagel is proposed in the German patent application having publication No.103 95 583. A heat accumulator in which drying agents such as hydratedsalts, ammoniates or zeolites are fixed in a fibrous carrier materialand which is used for controlled reception, storing and deliverance ofenergy is disclosed in the Swedish patent having publication No. 441457.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the invention to provide installations or systems forefficient storing and/or transport of energy.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method of efficientlystoring and/or transporting energy together with a simultaneousproduction of the clean or pure form of a volatile liquid.

In for example the published International patent applications WO00/37864 and WO 2005/054757 chemical heat pumps are disclosed. They canbe used for chemically storing energy in order to thereafter use thestored energy for heating or cooling. By only storing the chemicalsubstance alone it appears that an energy density of 400 kWh/ton can beobtained which should be compared to other methods ofstoring/transporting energy, e.g. remote heating that gives about 40kWh/ton. Generally, it is possible to use, using chemical heat pumps,the large amounts of waste heat dissipated that exist e.g. in industrialprocesses and for example in an economic way transport it to placeswhere the energy has a value of use.

As has been mentioned above, chemical heat pumps working with a solidsubstance has the disadvantage associated with a very low heatconductivity and hence a low power or efficiency and the advantages ofhaving the ability of working without any moving parts, a high storagecapacity and a constant reaction pressure. Chemical heat pumps workingwith a hybrid substance has the advantages of a high power or efficiencydue to the higher heat conductivity and additionally, the fact that theycan also work without any moving parts and that they have a high storagecapacity and a constant reaction pressure.

In a chemical heat pump working with a hybrid substance, if the solutionof the active substance is used to increase the heat conduction betweenthe active substance and the heat exchanger in the accumulator, whichcan for example be achieved by the fact that the active substance is notsubmitted to any displacement during the total process in the chemicalheat pump, i.e. so that the active substance all the time is stationaryor located in a stationary way, a chemical heat pump having a so called“solid” hybrid substance can be obtained. To achieve it, the solution ofthe active substance can be sucked into and/or be bonded in a passivesubstance, here called a matrix or a carrier, that generally should bein a good heat conducting contact with the heat exchanger in theaccumulator and can be arranged as of one or more bodies which in turncan be closely integrated with each other. That the substance is passivemeans that it does not cooperate in the absorption and releasing of thevolatile medium by the active substance. Thus, the function of thematrix is to maintain the solution of the active substance at thelocation thereof and thereby increase the heat conduction between theheat exchanger and the active substance when the active substance ischanging from its liquid to its solid state in the charging process andfrom its solid to its liquid state during the discharging process.Thereby the fact that the solution often has a higher heat conductingcapability than the solid substance can be exploited. The matrix isformed from a substance that is inert to the process in the heat pumpand may generally have an ability of binding the solution phase of theactive substance to itself and in same time allow the active substanceto interact with the volatile medium. In particular, it may be desirablethat the body or the bodies from which the matrix is formed should beefficiently capable of absorbing and/or be capable of binding thesolution phase of the active substance in a capillary way. The matrixmay include more or less separate particles, such as powders of forexample varying granular sizes and comprising grains of varying shapes,fibres having for example varying diameters and varying fibre lengths,and/or a sintered mass having a suitable porosity, that for example doesnot have to be uniform but can vary within the formed matrix bodies. Thesize and shape of the particles, i.e. in the special cases grain size,diameter and porosity, and porosity in the case of a solid matrix andthe choice of material in the matrix bodies influence in the respectivecase the storing capacity and power and efficiency of the finishedaccumulator. In the case where the matrix is applied as a layer to thesurface of the heat exchanger, also the thickness of the layer caninfluence the power or efficiency of the accumulator.

Thus, the processes in the heat pump can be said to be performed withthe active substance sucked into a body or wick of fibres or powderwhich has turned out to result in a high power or efficiency. The poweror efficiency has little to do with heat conduction in the body or wickbut depends on the reaction in the liquid phase, i.e. among other thingsthe fact that the active substance in its finely divided state changesto a solution that conducts heat better than the finely divided solidmaterial.

The matrix that may be said to be a sucking or absorbing material can bechosen among a plurality of different materials. For example, successfultests have been performed using fabrics of silicon dioxide as a matrixand a matrix including sand and glass powders in different fractions.The heat pump works by the fact that heat is conducted in the liquidphase at the same time as the structure of the matrix is sufficientlypermeable to allow transport of the vapour phase of the volatile medium.It is also possible to produce the matrix by sintering a powder orfibres to form a more solid structure.

Such an accumulator, here also called reactor or reactor part andincluding a matrix, can for example be advantageously used in storingand/or transporting energy according to the discussion above.Accumulators comprising a matrix as described above can allow that largeenergy quantities are received and that the received energy is storedwith a high density compared to comparable substances and thereafteralso allow transports which can subject the accumulators including theirstored energy to mechanical stress such as mixing movements, vibrationand pressure. The accumulator, i.e. the reactor part in which the energyis stored, can thus be stored and transported separately from thecondenser and the evaporator, respectively, in the heat pump, and theseunits can be stationarily arranged in charging or discharging stations,respectively.

The ability of the matrix to suck liquid into it so that the liquidforms the heat carrying medium and the ability thereof of still allowinggas transport through the matrix are equally applicable to thecondenser/evaporator unit in a chemical heat pump. When charging thechemical heat pump, gas is being transported through the matrix to becondensed at the surface of the heat exchanger and then be absorbed bythe matrix, after which the absorbed liquid increases the heatconduction of the matrix, so that more gas can be cooled, condensed andabsorbed. When discharging the chemical heat pump the matrix releaseswater vapour, this cooling the absorbed volatile liquid that due to theits good heat conductivity transports heat for evaporation from thesurface of the heat exchanger through the liquid to the evaporationzone.

Generally, an installation for storing and/or transporting energy canthen include a charging station, a discharging station and a storagepart. The charging station and the storage part have suitably designedcoupling devices to allow that inner spaces existing therein are made tobe in communication with one another when the storage part is coupled tothe charging station. In the same way the discharging station and thestorage part have coupling devices to make inner spaces existing thereinbe connected to one another when the storage part is coupled to thedischarging station. The storage part contains in an inner space anactive substance for interaction with a volatile liquid by absorptionand desorption thereof.

Advantageously, the storage part can be designed as a reactor part of achemical heat pump working with a hybrid substance and a matrixaccording to the description above. It means that the active substancein the reactor part and the volatile liquid are selected in such a waythat the volatile liquid can be absorbed by the active substance at afirst temperature and be desorbed by the active substance at a secondhigher temperature. The active substance has at the first temperature asolid state from which the active substance, when absorbing the volatileliquid and the vapour phase thereof immediately partially passes into aliquid state or a solution phase. The active substance has at the secondtemperature a liquid state or exists in a solution phase from which theactive substance, when releasing the volatile liquid, in particular thegas phase thereof; immediately partly passes into its solid state.Furthermore, the reactor art includes a matrix for the active substanceso that the active substance, both in its solid state and in its liquidstate or solution phase, is held in and/or bonded to the matrix.

The charging station comprises a condenser or similar device such as asuitable pump, in particular a pump of the vacuum pump type. When thestorage part is coupled to the charging station and the inner space inthe reactor part is in communication with an inner space in thecondenser or the similar device, the charging station can from thereactor part receive and/or remove gas phase of the volatile liquid.Thereby, the reactor part is “charged” in the same way as in a chemicalheat pump by the active substance being converted to a “charged” stateby desorption of the volatile liquid.

The discharging station comprises an evaporator that in an inner spacecontains a quantity of the volatile liquid in the condensed statethereof. When the storage part is coupled to the discharging station andthe inner space in the reactor part is in communication with the innerspace in the evaporator, the discharging station can transfer gas phaseof the volatile liquid to the reactor part so that the reactor part is“discharged” in the same way as in chemical heat pump by the activesubstance being converted to a “discharged” state by absorption of thevolatile liquid.

According to the description above energy is stored so that it can betransported. This storing of energy means, that in transferring theenergy to a storage part it is simultaneously possible to obtain, as aby-product in the transferring operation, pure distilled water in thecase where water is used as the volatile liquid. In the correspondingway refilling of water is required on the place where the stored energyis used.

Thus, production of pure water can be made in the way that before“discharge”, i.e. use of the energy in a discharging station, theevaporator is filled with water that can be pure or impure, e.g. saltwater or contaminated water. This water is released/evaporated from theevaporator as water vapour, when using the stored energy, whereupon thewater vapour is condensed and bonded in the active substance of thereactor part. Later, when the reactor part is being “charged” in acharging station, water is evaporated from the reactor part and iscondensed as pure water in the condenser or some similar device. Thispure or clean water can be extracted at the discharging station and beused for all purposes that can be conceived for water, e.g. asindustrial water or as drinking water. It can be an advantage associatedwith energy transport according to the description above, as it in thedischarging station, i.e. on the place where the energy is used, ispossible to use unclean water such as salt water and water contaminatedin other ways, which is then returned as clean distilled water in the“charging” operation in a charging station.

Such a production of clean water by purifying impure water, e.g. saltwater, can obviously be obtained also in those cases where a hybridsubstance and a matrix are not used. The purification of water can beperformed without any extra supply of energy and without any costs forthe operation. As pure water is more and more becoming a commodity inshort supply, the possibility of water production can be an importantadvantage from the environment point of view, from a health point ofview and from an economical point of view. If energy transfer accordingto the description above is used in a stationary way instead of energybeing transported from a charging station to a discharging stationlocated at different geographic places, but is only used for storingenergy, to be used later when needed on the same place, clean water canbe obtained from unclean water such as salt water and contaminatedwater. The users of a private home can for example obtain all thermalenergy for heating purposes and for conditioned cooling by the procedurethat energy from thermal solar radiation receivers as received from theradiation of each day is stored as thermal energy in a storage part. Ineach cycle including storing energy and delivering energy, in chargingthe storage part, clean user water can be produced from salt water orwater contaminated in other ways. The capacity of the storage part canbe adapted proportionally to the energy requirement of the user and thussimultaneously provide for the user's need of clean water. Thus, e.g.the users of a private home can require about 25 000 kWh per year asenergy for heating and cooling, which can be adapted by connecting thecharging station to a solar radiation collector having a sufficientsize. In such an installation about 42 m³ salt water or watercontaminated in other ways can be purified each year, covering more thansatisfactorily the whole need of the users for clean water.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectsand advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means ofthe methods, processes, instrumentalities and combinations particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the novel features of the invention are set forth withparticularly in the appended claims, a complete understanding of theinvention, both as to organization and content, and of the above andother features thereof may be gained from and the invention will bebetter appreciated from a consideration of the following detaileddescription of non-limiting embodiments presented hereinbelow withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a is a schematic of a chemical heat pump according to prior artworking according to the hybrid principle,

FIG. 1 b is a schematic diagram generally illustrating the principle ofa chemical heat pump,

FIG. 1 c is a diagram similar to FIG. 1 b but schematically illustratinghow a reactor in a chemical heat is being charged,

FIG. 1 d is a diagram similar to FIG. 1 b but schematically illustratinghow a reactor in a chemical heat is being discharged,

FIG. 2 a is a schematic similar to FIG. 1 a but of a chemical heat pumpin which the active substance is absorbed in a carrier,

FIG. 2 b is a schematic similar to FIG. 2 a of an alternative embodimentof a chemical heat pump,

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the charging process in a chemical heat pumpaccording to FIG. 2 using LiCl as the active substance,

FIG. 4 is a diagram similar to FIG. 3 but of the discharging process,

FIG. 5 is a schematic of an accumulator tank for the chemical heat pumpshown in FIG. 2,

FIGS. 6 a, 6 b and 6 c are cross-sectional detail views of a matrixmaterial placed at a heat exchanger surface,

FIG. 6 d is a cross sectional detail view of a matrix material locatedat a heat exchanger surface from which a flange projects,

FIG. 7 is a schematic of a container in which reactor parts for achemical heat pump are contained,

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating how a container having a reactor partcontained therein is connected in a charging station,

FIG. 9 a is a schematic similar to FIG. 8 illustrating how a containerhaving a reactor part contained therein is connected in a dischargingstation to deliver heat,

FIG. 9 b is a schematic similar to FIG. 9 a but where the container isconnected to deliver cooling,

FIG. 10 is a schematic of an installation for transfer of energy andsimultaneous production of clean water,

FIG. 11 a is a schematic of components in the installation of FIG. 10 atthe place to which energy is transported,

FIG. 11 b is a schematic similar to FIG. 11 a but of components at theplace where clean water is produced, and

FIG. 12 is a schematic similar to FIGS. 11 a and 11 b but of componentsin an installation for storing energy and simultaneous production ofclean water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system for storing and/or transporting energy will now be described inwhich the part of a chemical heat pump that contains the “active”substance, is being stored or transported, respectively. In the chemicalheat pump schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 b two vessels orcontainers are provided. A reactor 1 contains an active substance whichcan exothermally absorb and endothermically desorb a gaseous sorbate.The reactor 1 is connected to a condenser/evaporator 3 through a pipe ora channel 4. The second vessel 3 acts as a condenser for condensinggaseous sorbate to liquid sorbate and as an evaporator of liquid sorbateto gaseous sorbate. The active substance in the accumulator 1 is in somemanner in a heat exchanging contact with one or more external mediawhich is symbolically illustrated by the arrows 31, for supplying orremoving heat. The liquid in the evaporator/condenser 3 is in the sameway in a heat exchanging contact with one or more other media which issymbolically indicated by the arrows 32, for supplying or removing heat.

According to the hybrid principle the active substance alternatesbetween a solid state and a dissolved state. In order that the chemicalheat pump will be capable of working according to the hybrid principle,the active substance must always remain in the reactor 1. A method ofachieving it is to restrict the movability of the substance in the solidstate thereof using a net 11 as illustrated in FIG. 1 a. Another methodwill be described hereinafter. For a chemical heat pump working with anactive substance that all the time is in a solid state, it is not aproblem.

In transport of energy the reactor 1 is physically transported while theactive substance is in a suitable active state. During the transport thereactor 1 is physically and in a vacuum tight way separated from the gaschannel 4, such as by a shut-off valve, not shown. Anevaporator/condenser unit 3′ is suitably provided at the place where oneselects to “charge” the reactor 1, i.e. to convert the active substancelocated therein to a “charged” or “activated” state, e.g. using wasteheat from a process industry, see the arrows 31′ in FIG. 1 c. Theevaporator/condenser unit only has to work as a condenser and can have avery simple structure. Between the reactor and the condenser a physicalcoupling device is arranged that is symbolically illustrated at 33.Another evaporator/condenser unit is provided on the place, where onewishes to use the energy stored in the active substance in the reactorfor heating, see the arrows 31″, or for cooling, i.e. for “discharging”the reactor or for converting the substance into a “discharged” state,see the arrows 32′, e.g. for energy supply to a village, town or anumber of buildings, and the unit then works only as an evaporator 3″,see FIG. 1 d. The reactor 1 is transported between the places wherethese units 3′, 3″ are placed, and are connected to them at theinterface 33 for charging or discharging, respectively.

In storing energy the reactor 1 can in the same way physically and in avacuum tight way be shut of from the gas channel 4 and be stored on somesuitable place, the active substance being in a charged state. When thestored energy is to be used, the reactor 1 is fetched and coupled to thegas channel for a free passage of gaseous sorbate between the reactorand the evaporator/condenser 3. Thus, in this case the evaporator 3″ andthe condenser 3′ can be the same unit.

In some cases it can be suitable to arrange one or a plurality ofreactor units 1 in an outer holding structure such as a freightcontainer of some kind. The individual reactor units can then be givenan elongated shape and for example be designed as tubes that are locatedparallel to one another. Heat exchange for such parallel tubes can e.g.be arranged through the walls of the tubes so that no inner heatexchange coil is required as in FIG. 1 a.

Now a modified chemical heat pump will be described with reference toFIG. 2 a, the reactor or accumulator of which can be suited for storingand/or transporting energy according to the discussion above and whichuses the hybrid process together with a matrix for holding and/orcarrying the active substance.

The modified chemical heat pump includes in a conventional way a firstcontainer 1, also called accumulator or reactor, containing an activesubstance 2, herein also called only “substance”. The substance canexothermically absorb and endothermically desorb a sorbate, also calledthe absorbent, the liquid form of which is called “volatile liquid”herein and which can usually be water. The terms “volatile liquid” and“water” are herein used to denote the liquid form of the sorbate, sothat is to be understood that even if only water is mentioned, otherliquids can be used. The substance 2 is here illustrated to be held byor carried by or sucked into a matrix or carrier 13 that generally formsor is at least one porous body which has open pores and is made from asuitable inert substance. The matrix can in a typical case consist of afinely divided powder of for example aluminium oxide, applied in a layerhaving a suitable thickness, for example a relatively thin layer such asa layer having a thickness of 5-10 mm. In this embodiment the matrix inthe first container 2 is applied only at the interior surfaces of thiscontainer that are located at a first heat exchanger 7, as shownparticularly only at the vertical interior surfaces of the firstcontainer. The first container 1 is connected to another container 3,also called condenser/evaporator, through a fixed or stationary gasconnection 4 having the shape of a pipe that at its ends is connected tothe top sides of the containers 1, 3. The second container works as acondenser for condensing gaseous sorbate 6 to form liquid sorbate 5 inan endothermic desorption of the substance 2 in the first container 1and as an evaporator of liquid sorbate 5 to form gaseous sorbate 6 in anexothermic absorption of sorbate in the substance in the firstcontainer. The second container 3 is here illustrated to have half theportion of its interior surface, which is in contact with a second heatexchanger 9, covered with a material 14 that is sucking in a capillaryway and half the same interior surface is free. In the embodimentaccording to the figure it means that half the inner vertical surface ofthe second container 3 is covered with a material having a capillarysucking function whereas the rest of the interior surface thereof isfree. Condensation of gaseous sorbate 6 occurs at the free surface ofthe heat exchanger 9 in the second container 3, and evaporation occursfrom the material 14 that is capillary sucking on the interior surfaceof the second container.

The various components of the chemical heat pump, also called thesystem, i.e. the interior spaces in the first and second containers 1, 3and the gas conduit 4 that are in fluid connection with each other, areentirely gas tight and evacuated from all other gases than the gas 6participating in the chemical process, also called the volatile mediumor absorbent, that usually is water vapour. The active substance 2 inthe accumulator 1 is in a direct heat conducting contact with surfacesof the first heat exchanger 7 that in this embodiment is located at thevertical interior surfaces enclosing the accumulator 1, and that thusalso can be said to enclose the accumulator, and that can be suppliedwith heat from or deliver heat to the surroundings through a firstliquid flow 8. The liquid 5 in the evaporator/condenser part 3 is in asimilar way in a direct heat conducting contact with surfaces of thesecond heat exchanger 9 that in this embodiment is placed at thevertical interior surfaces of the evaporator/condenser part and hencealso can be said to enclose the evaporator/condenser part and to andfrom which heat can be supplied or transported from or to thesurroundings, respectively, through a second liquid flow 11.

The active substance 2 in the chemical heat pump is selected so that itat the temperatures for which the heat pump is intended can operate sothat it changes between a solid and a liquid state in the dischargingand charging processes of the heat pump. Thus, the reaction in theaccumulator 1 occurs between two phases, a solid phase state and aliquid phase state, of the active substance. In the discharging processwhen the absorbent is absorbed by the substance the first phase is solidwhereas the second phase is liquid and then a constant reaction pressureis maintained for the absorbent. The substance will then successivelychange from a solid to a liquid state at the same time as a constantcooling temperature is obtained. The process continues with a constantreaction pressure until substantially all of the active substance haschanged from its solid to its liquid state. In a corresponding way thereaction pressure in the charging process is constant while thesubstance is changing from its liquid to its solid state.

A normal hybrid substance, see the patent application WO 00/37864mentioned above, can advantageously be used that is diluted to a desiredconcentration in the solution of the sorbate and thereafter is suckedinto a matrix consisting of an inert powder, i.e. a powder of a materialthat is not to any substantial extent changed during the operation ofthe chemical heat pump. Thus, the material should have a solid stateduring the changing conditions in the heat pump and it should notchemically interact with, i.e. not chemically influence or be affectedby, any of the substances or media that change their aggregate statesduring operation of the heat pump. In tests performed this powder hasfor example been aluminium oxide and the active substance LiCl. Otherpossible active substances may be SrBr₂, etc., see also theInternational Patent Application WO 00/37864 mentioned above. Thegranular size of the powder can here be of importance and also thecapability thereof to suck or absorb in a capillary way. To formsuitable bodies of the matrix such a powder can first be applied to oneor more surfaces of a heat exchanger as a layer having a suitablethickness, for example with a thickness between 5 and 10 mm. In mostcases then a net-structure of some kind, not shown, must be applied tothe heat exchanger to hold the respective layer in order to form a bodyfrom the powder. For example, tests have been performed using layers,having a thickness of 10 mm applied to the outside of pipes, insidepipes and to the bottom of the container. The solution, i.e. the activesubstance diluted by the volatile medium, also called the sorbate, inits liquid state, is then sucked into the powder in the layers and isallowed to run out of it, until all of the remaining solution is bondedin a capillary way in the powder in the layers. Thereafter, the reactorcan be used in the same way as a reactor for a solid substance is used,see e.g. the International Patent Application WO 00/31206 mentionedabove.

The matrix together with the substance held therein is in this case nota solid body but a loose mass similar to wet sand in the dischargedstate of the heat pump. However, in the charged state of the heat pumpthe matrix is hard. The solution of the active substance has asignificantly better heat conducting capability than the substance inthe solid state thereof. Heat from the first heat exchanger 7 can thenbe efficiently transported to or away from the active substance. If forexample a matrix consisting of aluminium oxide is filled with a 3 molarLiCl solution, a very rapid and efficient charging of the system isperformed down to about a 1 molar solution. Thereafter the powerdecreases since the active substance now does not any longer contain anysolution, i.e. does not exist in any part in a liquid phase or asolution phase. However, there is no problem to drive the process downto the concentration of 0 molar. In the discharging process the processworks very well up to a state where the solution is 2.7 à 2.8 molarafter which it is retarded. This is so because the matrix has not anylonger any permeability to gas when the concentration of 3 molar isreached. In this condition the matrix is full, i.e. the matrix hasabsorbed as much solution as is substantially possible.

The function and power of hybrid systems using a solution sucked into amatrix is typically significantly better than those of solid systems.However, larger heat exchanger surfaces are required than required forsystems using hybrid substances and only a free solution. Tests showthat a 2 à 3 times larger heat exchanger area is required to reach, in ahybrid system using a “bonded” solution phase, the same power as in ahybrid system using only a free solution. However, then the powerdensity at the surface in such a system having an increased efficientarea of the heat exchanger surface is so small that the heat exchangerdoes not necessarily have to be directly acting but can advantageouslybe enlarged. The term directly acting heat exchanger or a directlyacting heat exchange between heat exchanger and activesubstance/solution means that the substance/solution exists at the outersurface of a smooth, simple wall of the heat exchanger while the heatcarrying/cooling medium or the fluid in the heat exchanger iscirculating at the interior surface of the same wall, i.e. thesubstance/solution has a substantially direct contact with the heatexchanger medium, through only a relatively thin and flat wall in theheat exchanger. The term heat exchanger or a heat exchange with enenlarged surface means that the substance/fluid exists at a surface ofthe heat exchanger that has been given an enlarged effective heatexchanging area by for example being corrugated and/or provided withprotruding portions of some suitable kind, such as flanges. For a hybridsystem using a solution sucked into a matrix it means that also thematrix is located at such a surface of the heat exchanger.

Tests that have been performed at a laboratory scale and then have beenrecalculated for a full scale have provided data for charging anddischarging, respectively, that appear from the diagrams of FIGS. 3 and4. These tests have been performed using accumulators 1 having the shapeof circular cylindrical vessels of 1 litre of the diameter 100 mm andheight 130 mm, in which a layer 13 having a thickness of 10 mm of aninert material with a substance contained therein is located at thecylindrical interior surface of the vessel, i.e. at the interior side ofits envelope surface. The matrix material and the substance are in thisembodiment held at their places by a net structure including a net 15having an exterior covering of a more fine meshed structure such as acotton cloth 16 or a fine meshed net, see FIG. 5. Any changes of thestructure or function of the layer including an inert carrier and thesubstance have not been observed during the tests performed.

The general structure of the matrix is schematically shown in FIG. 6 a.The layer or the body 13 of a porous matrix material is applied to oneside of a heat exchanger wall 23 and has pores 24. The pores havegenerally such a cross section that they allow transport and absorptionof the gaseous sorbate. The matrix can carry active substance 2 on thewalls in the pores that can interact with gaseous sorbate in theremaining channels 25 that can exist in some stages of the operation ofthe heat pump. The pores can also be completely filled as shown at 26with solution or with condensate, respectively. The matrix material ischosen so that it at its surface can bind activesubstance/solution/condensate and hence it can suitably be hydrophilicor at least have a hydrophilic surface, if water is used as the fluid inthe system. However, it is possible to use materials which have nohydrophilic surface or generally no surface that is wet by the activesubstance in the solution phase thereof or at which the active substancein its solution phase is not significantly bonded, provided that theactive substance is introduced into the matrix, such as by mixing orstirring it together with it, before it is applied at the heat exchangerwalls, even if a chemical heat pump having such a matrix often workssatisfactorily only during a few cycles of the operation of the heatpump. The size of the pores can be selected for example so that they arecapillary sucking for the liquid phase that they are to absorb which canbe particularly suitable for a matrix placed in thecondenser/evaporator. Typical cross-sectional dimensions of the pores 24can be in the range of 10-60 μm. It may be disadvantageous to have toonarrow pores since they can make the interaction of the volatile mediumwith all parts of the active substance more difficult. The volume of thepores can be for example at least 20% and preferably at least 40%, evenat least 50% of the bulk volume of the matrix body. The matrix can ashas been mentioned above alternatively be of a sintered or equivalentmaterial, i.e. form a substantially solid, connected body. The matrixcan also be formed from particles of different shapes, such as more orless spherical particles, see FIG. 6 b, or from elongated particles, forexample from fibre pieces that can be relatively short having alength/thickness ratio in e.g. the range of 1:2 to 1:10, see FIG. 6 c.The heat exchanger wall 23 can be provided with flanges 27 as shown inFIG. 6 d.

Example 1 of Matrix Material

A material suitable as a matrix material is produced from a powder ofAl₂O₃. The density of the powder grains is 2.8 kg/cm³ and their diameteris 2-4 μm. The powder is applied in layers with a solution of activesubstance contained therein according to the description above and thedry matrix material in the layers has a bulk density of about 0.46kg/cm³ which gives an average filling rate or degree of the finishedmatrix material of 0.45, i.e. almost half the volume is taken by thepowder grains. The channels between the powder grains in the producedlayers have a diameter of the magnitude of order of 60 μm.

Example 2 of Matrix Material

A material suitable as a matrix material is produced by moulding amixture of 1 (weight) part of Portland cement and 5 (weight) parts ofpowder of Al₂O₃ as in Example 1. This material can approximately beconsidered as “sintered”.

Example 3 of Matrix Material

A fibre material suitable as a matrix material is produced from fibreswhich consist of 54% SiO₂ and 47% Al₂O₃ and have a melting point ofabout 1700° C. The density of the fibres is 2.56 kg/cm³ and thediameters thereof are 2-4 μm. The fibres are compressed in a wet stateto increase their packing density. The bulk density after drying thecompressed material is about 0.46 kg/cm³ which gives an average fillingratio of 0.17 of the finished matrix material. The channels between thefibres in the compressed material have diameters of between about 5 and10 μm.

In the embodiment described above the matrix layer 13 is applied in thesimplest possible way, such as to a substantially smooth interiorsurface of a heat exchanger. Various shapes of heat structures andmatrix layers applied thereto can be considered, compare the patentapplication WO 00/31206 mentioned above. Hereinafter examples on suchadditional different conceivable configurations of matrix and heatexchangers are given that can be suitable in installations in which thematrix technique as described above is used. Thus, in an ordinarystationary installation the matrix layer can for example be applied tothe exterior side of one of more pipes in which a heat exchanger mediumor a heat carrying medium is circulating. For example, tests have beenperformed for pipes having a diameter of 22 mm, around which matrixlayers having a thickness of 10 mm have been applied.

It is also possible that all fluid, i.e. typically all the water, in thecondenser can be sucked in a capillary way and thereby be completelyeliminated as a free liquid in the chemical heat pump, see theinstallation in FIG. 2 b. Here all the interior surfaces of theevaporator/condenser 3 except the top interior surface have beenprovided with a matrix material that is capillary sucking. Heatexchanging medium must then also be circulating at the bottom of thiscontainer.

As has been mentioned above, a plurality of reactor vessels 1 can beplaced at the sides of each other and be connected to each other to forma storage part, here also called reactor part or reactor package, whichcan be particularly suited for storing and transporting energy. Thestorage part can include an outer vessel, a container 41, see FIG. 7, inwhich such a reactor package is enclosed. The reactor vessels can forexample be the kind shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b.

Such a container 41 that can comprise a suitable steel vessel similar toordinary freight containers for international conveyance of goods, thencontains the reactor vessels 1 that can be a number of substantiallyidentical, tubular or plate-shaped units and can be placed in parallelwith one another. The individual reactor vessels are interconnected by acollector tube 42 which can be seen as being a prolongation of the gaschannel 4 and extends from the reactor vessels to an external couplingpart 43. In this coupling part a shut-off valve 44 is connected. Gaseoussorbate such as water vapour can pass in the collector tube and throughthe gas channel 4, not shown in this figure, when the gas channel iscoupled to the coupling part 43, as has been described above whencharging and discharging the reactors. The reactor vessels 1 aredesigned for heat exchange with an external medium that is circulatinginside the container 41 and around the individual reactor vessels andthat is supplied and removed through two coupling pipes 45, 46 in whichshut-off valves 47, 48 are connected. The reactor units are suitablyplaced in the container 41 as densely as possible considering that asufficient heat exchange between them and the external medium arrangedaround the reactor units and circulating in the space in the containeraround the reactor units, will occur.

Reactor units 1 placed in a container 41 can for example be long steeltubes which are arranged in parallel with one another and can beenamelled and contain active substance that can be bonded to a matrixaccording to the description above. The connection to the collector tubeis suitably located at one end of the steel tubes.

When charging the reactor units 1 in a container 41 the container can becoupled to for example specially configured charging stations locatede.g. with industry plants. A container is coupled to a charging stationby the three coupling parts 43, 45 and 46. Then, the coupling part 43 ofthe collector tube 42 does not have to be coupled to a condenseraccording to the discussion above but can instead be coupled to asimpler device such as vacuum pump. The valves 44, 47 and 48 are openedand surplus heat from a plant such as a process industry in the shape offor example hot water is conducted around the reactor units 1, thisbringing the active substance into a “charged” state, i.e. practically,the salt in the matrices in a thermal heat pump according to thedescription above is being “dried”. The water vapour then formed passesaway through the collector tube 42 and the vapour channel (4) and ispumped away from the reactor units. The water vapour can for example inturn work as cooling medium in some of the processes executed in theplant. The water obtained when the water vapour condenses is a distilledliquid and it is thus pure, without any content of salts andcontaminations. It can be used in a suitable way, for to example insensitive processes where distilled water is required or for producingdrinking water. After the charging has been finished and the vacuum inthe reactor units 1 has been checked, the external heating exchangingmedium in the container 41 around the reactor units can be pumped away,the valve 44, 47 and 48 be closed and the container 41 can betransported to a place for storage or to a discharging station.

In the discharging procedure the container 41 can in the same way becoupled to a discharging station which for example is specially designedand where heat or cold is taken from the container. The container iscoupled using the three coupling parts 43, 45 and 46. If one wishes touse the energy for cooling, the gas coupling part 43 is under vacuumcoupled to an evaporator (3″), which contains some quantity of liquidsorbate and which in addition is in a heat exchanging relationship witha system that one wants to cool. The space in the container 41 aroundthe reactor units 1 is coupled to some object that works as a coolingmedium, e.g. a local water stream. Instead, if one wishes to use theenergy for heating, the liquid in the space around the reactor units iscoupled to the object which one wants to heat, and the evaporator is forheat exchange connected to some form of heating medium that here alsocan e.g. be a local water stream or water pool. After the dischargingoperation has been finished, the valves 44, 47 and 48 are closed and thecontainer 41 can be transported back to a charging station.

The evaporator (3″) at the discharging station does not have to containa matrix but can comprise only a vacuum tight vessel with the condensedsorbate contained therein, a quite conventional heat exchanger and apump sprinkling water over the heat exchanger. As the process in thisstation runs in only direction, i.e. sorbate is transported as vapourfrom the evaporator to the reactor 1, the evaporator does not have to beequally well protected against corrosion as in the embodiments of FIG. 1a and FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and thus a common aluminium heat exchanger can forexample be used. For the same reason condensed sorbate, i.e. normallywater, must be filled into the evaporator at even intervals, and hencealso the evaporator must be pumped to a vacuum.

Thus, clean water can be obtained as a by-product when transferringenergy using an energy storage device such as the storage part formed byone or more reactor vessels 1 according to the description above andsuitable charging and discharging stations. Production of water couldthen be performed by filling before discharging, i.e. before thedelivery of energy, the evaporator (3) in the discharging station withunclean water such as salt water or other contaminated water. This wateris released/evaporates from the evaporator during the delivery of energyas pure water vapour, whereupon the vapour is condensed and bonded inthe active substance of the reactor 1. Later, when the reactor ischarged in a discharging station, water is released as water vapour fromthe reactor and is condensed in the condenser (3) as clean water. Thisclean water can be extracted and used for all purposes conceivable forwater, e.g. as industry water or as drinking water. Practically, suchwater can be produced in two ways, either with an energy storage part,in which energy is stored on one place to then be used on another place,i.e. for transport of energy, or in which the energy is stored on thesame place where it later is to be used:

1. Energy is stored in the energy storage device on one place to bethereupon transported and used on another place. Clean water can then ifdesired be delivered to the place where the storing of energy isexecuted, i.e. the producer of energy supplies energy and obtains cleanwater. The receiver of energy at the other place provides and fills thesystem with water that must not be clean but can be salt water orcontaminated water.2. Another process of obtaining clean water can include that the storingof energy and the use of energy are made on the same place, i.e.stationarily, e.g. where houses or commercial buildings need both ofthem. A typical such installation can take its energy from solarradiation collectors, the energy of which is stored until the energymust be used, and takes its water that is to be purified from the sea orfrom some weakly contaminated water source. To perform production ofwater one fills e.g. contaminated water in an evaporator intended forthis purpose before delivering thermal energy, both for heating andcooling, from the energy storage part. The condenser and evaporator arethen separate devices that are coupled to the storage part, so that thecondenser is used in the charging process and the evaporator in thedischarging process, in order not to contaminate a commoncondenser/evaporator 3 according to e.g. FIG. 1 b with the water filled.When energy is delivered from the energy storage part, the contaminatedwater is evaporated and the water vapour formed is transferred to thereactor 1, where it is absorbed as pure distilled water. Afterdelivering energy the energy storage part is again charged, and theclean water that is bonded in the reactor is released as water vapour,which is now condensed in the separately arranged condenser. After thecharging process has been finished, the water collected in the condensercan be tapped off and used as e.g. drinking water.

The procedure of charging a container 105 containing one or more reactorunits will now be described with reference to FIG. 8.

In charging station 50 the container 41 is connected to an industry unitor factory 51 with its coupling pipes 45, 46 including valves 47, 48coupled to coupling devices 52, 53 including shut-off valves 54, 55. Thecontainer is also at the interface 33 connected to a condenser 3′ orsimilar device having its gas coupling pipe 43 including the valve 44coupled to a coupling device 57 including a shut-off valve 58. Theindustry unit or factory 51 supplies energy, see the arrow 59, as heat,such as waste heat, to the reactor unit 1 in the container 41. The heatenergy is transferred in a hydraulic system, e.g. using water, or in apneumatic system, e.g. using air, the heat exchanging or heat carryingmedium here being called energy carrier. Energy carrier having a lowertemperature is fed back, see the arrow 60, to the industry unit or thefactory to collect energy as waste heat. At the same time the condenser3′ can be cooled, see the arrows 61, 62, by a source indicated at 63,that has a constant temperature which is lower than the temperature ofthe energy when it leaves the industry or the factory 51. The condensercould also here in the simplest case be a vacuum pump.

Due to the ΔT, the definition of which is described in the abovementioned published patent application WO 00/37864, that exists betweenthe substance in the reactor unit 1 and the condenser 3′ a pressuredifference is formed between them, the pressure difference causing thatwater that is absorbed in the active substance in the reactor isvapourized and quickly moves, see the arrow 64, to the condenser, wherethe water vapour is condensed.

After the charging operation has been finished, i.e. after a sufficientamount of water has entered the condenser 3′, the space around thereactor unit 1 in the container can be emptied from energy carrier, allvalves be closed and the container 41 be disconnected from the chargingstation 50 at the physical interfaces 33, 65 and 66. Thereafter, it canbe stored or conveyed to another place.

The procedure of discharging a container 41 containing one or morecharged reactor units 1 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 9a and 9 b.

The container 41 together with its charged reactor units is connected adischarging station 70, which in a special case such as for storingenergy can be the same as the charging station 50, but in other cases isseparate therefrom and can be located for example at a largegeographical distance from the charging station. The container iscoupled at the three physical interfaces 33, 64, 65. The coupling pipes45, 46 including valves 47, 48 are coupled to coupling devices 71, 72including shut-off valves 73, 74 in the discharging station. Thecontainer is also connected to an evaporator 3″ with its gas couplingpipe 43 including a valve 44 coupled to a coupling device 75 including ashut-off valve 76. After all coupling devices having been connected, allthese valves 47, 48, 73, 74, 44, 76 are opened to start the dischargingprocess.

Due to the ΔT that exists between the inner spaces of the reactor unit 1and the evaporator 3″ a pressure difference is formed between them, thepressure difference causing that the water in the evaporator startsboiling and the water vapour formed quickly moves, see the arrow 77, tothe reactor unit in the container 41, where the water condenses in thesalt of the reactor unit.

In the case where one wishes to use the energy stored in the reactor asheat, e.g. in a village or town, the space in the container 41 aroundthe reactor unit 1 is connected to the district heating system of thevillage or town, this being in FIG. 9 a symbolically indicated as thereservoir 78, by opening valves 79, 80 and closing valves 81, 82. Toreceive the correct temperature the evaporator 3″ is simultaneously withits heat exchanging surfaces coupled to a heat source symbolicallyindicated at 83, which has a constant temperature that is significantlylower than the temperature which one wants to get, by opening valves 84,85 and closing valves 86, 87. Thereby, the energy carrier of thecontainer 41 is pumped to be circulating between the space around thereactor unit 1, where it is heated by the energy stored in the reactorunit, and the district heating system 78 of the village or town, wherethe need for heating exists, see the arrows 88, 89. The energy carrierof the evaporator 3″ is being pumped between the heat exchangingsurfaces of the evaporator where it is cooled and the heat source 83,see the arrows 90, 91.

In the case where one instead wishes to use the energy stored in thereactor unit 1 in the container 41 for cooling purposes, the heatexchanging surfaces of the evaporator 3″ are connected to the coolingsystem of the village or town, symbolically indicated as the reservoir92 in FIG. 9 b, by opening the valves 93, 94 and at the same timeclosing the valves 95, 96. To receive the correct temperature,simultaneously the heat exchanging surfaces of the reactor unit areconnected via a medium to a cold source, symbolically indicated at 97,which has a constant temperature that is significantly higher than thetemperature which one wants, by opening valves 98, 99 and closing valves100, 101. Thereby, the energy carrier of the evaporator 3″ is pumpedbetween the evaporator, where it is cooled, and the cooling system 92 ofthe village or town, where the need for cooling exists, see the arrows102, 103. The energy carrier of the reactor unit is pumped between thespace in the container 41 around the reactor unit, where it is heated,and the cold location 97, see the arrows 104, 105.

After all stored energy has been collected from the reactor unit 1 inthe container 41, the valves around the interfaces 33, 65 and 66 areclosed. The discharged reactor can thereupon be conveyed to a chargingstation 50 and be connected thereto.

In FIG. 10 it is schematically illustrated how transport of energy andproducing clean water can be simultaneously executed. In the energytransport case charged reactor parts 1 are moved from place B to placeA. In the case of transporting clean water discharged reactor parts aremoved from place A to place B.

On place A for example roughly filtered water is filled to thestationary evaporator 3″ from a filling vessel 111 by opening a valve113, see FIG. 11 a. The filling valve is closed and the evaporator ispumped by a vacuum pump 115 to achieve a vacuum. A charged reactor part1 (at G in FIG. 10) in which a vacuum exists is transported to place A,where it is coupled to the stationary evaporator 3″. Valves between thereactor part and the evaporator, that are symbolically indicated at 117and correspond to the valves 44, 76 in FIGS. 9 a and 9 b, are opened.After the evaporator 3″ and the reactor part 1 have been interconnected,the discharging process starts. Dining the discharging process water inthe evaporator is vapourized and moves as vapour to the reactor part.After this process has been finished, the valves 117 between the reactorpart 1 and the evaporator 3″ are closed and the now discharged reactorpart is disconnected from the evaporator. Thereafter, if required, watercan be filled again in the evaporator and a new charged reactor part beconnected to the evaporator, and then the process on place A isrestarted. The chamber of the evaporator 3″, in which water is filled,should be regularly rinsed, so that no accumulation of salts orcontaminations is obtained.

Thereupon, a discharged reactor part 1 (at H in FIG. 10) can arrive toplace B and there be coupled to a stationary condenser 3′ in which avacuum exists. Valves between the reactor part and the condenser, thatare symbolically indicated at 119 and correspond to the valves 44, 76 inFIGS. 9 a and 9 b, are opened and thereafter the charging process isstarted, in which water in the reactor part is vapourized and moves asvapour to the stationary condenser, in which the water vapour iscondensed. The water obtained in the condensing process is collected inthe chamber of the condenser 3′. After the charging process has beenfinished, the valves 119 between the reactor part 1 and the condenserare closed and thereupon the reactor part is disconnected from thecondenser. Thereafter, a valve 121 for tapping off water from thecondenser is opened and clean, drinkable water can be tapped off,possibly using a water pump 123. After the water has been tapped off,the tapping-off valve is closed and a vacuum is pumped in the condenser3′ using a vacuum pump 125. Now a new discharged reactor part 1 canarrive to place B and be connected to the condenser. After the valves119 between the reactor part 1 and the condenser 3′ have been opened, anew charging process is started.

In FIG. 12 it is illustrated how the storing of energy and asimultaneous production of clean water can be performed in a stationaryprocess without moving reactor parts. The same basic process is usedthat has been described above with reference to in particular FIGS. 10,11 a and 11 b, but here at least two stationary reactors or reactorparts 1.1, 1.2 are used, which can be alternatingly coupled to theevaporator 3″ and the condenser 3′, respectively, by opening or closingvalves 117.1, 117.2, 119.1, 1192 which are connected in the couplingparts of the respective reactor part with the condenser and theevaporator, respectively. The evaporator and condenser are distinct,i.e. they are separate units, in order to avoid mixing dirty and cleanwater. The evaporator 3″ comprises as described above a filling deviceand clean water can be taken from the condenser by opening the valve 121and thereupon, if required, pumping the clean water away using a pump123, that for example can be a piston pump. The coupling valves of thereactor parts can be designed as three-way valves. Thus, in the casewhere two reactor parts are used, as shown in the figure, e.g. thecoupling valves 117.1 and 117.2 to the evaporator 3″ can be replacedwith a three-way valve, not shown, and the coupling valves 119.1 and119.2 to the condenser 3′ can be replaced with another three-way valve,not shown.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, it is realized that numerous other embodiments may beenvisaged and that numerous additional advantages, modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention inits broader aspects is not limited to the specific details,representative devices and illustrated examples shown and describedherein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined bythe appended claims and their equivalents. It is therefore to beunderstood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and changes as fall within a true spirit and scope of theinvention. Numerous other embodiments may be envisaged without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. An installation for storing and/or transporting energy comprising acharging station, a discharging station and a storage part, the chargingstating and the storage part having coupling devices for connectinginner spaces existing inside them to one another, the dischargingstating and the storage part having coupling devices for connectinginner spaces existing inside them to one another, and the storage partcontaining, in an inner space thereof, an active substance forinteraction with a volatile liquid by absorption and desorption thereof,characterized in that the storage part is made as a reactor part of achemical heat pump, the active substance in the reactor part and thevolatile liquid selected, so that the volatile liquid that can beabsorbed by the active substance at a first temperature and desorbed bythe active substance at a second higher temperature, the activesubstance having at the first temperature a solid state from which theactive substance when absorbing the volatile liquid and the vapour phasethereof immediately or directly partly changes to a liquid state or asolution phase and at the second temperature has a liquid state orexists in a solution phase, from which the active substance whenreleasing the volatile liquid, in particular the vapour phase thereof,directly changes partly to a solid state, and the reactor part containsa matrix for the active substance, so that the active substance both inits solid state and in its liquid phase or solution phase is held and/oris bonded to the matrix, that the charging station includes a condenseror similar device for receiving and/or removing, when the storage partis connected to the charging station and the inner space of the reactorpart is in communication with an inner space of the condenser or thesimilar device, from the reactor part gas phase of the volatile liquid,so that the reactor part is charged in the same way as in chemical heatpump, the active substance then being transferred to a charged state bydesorption of the volatile liquid, and that the discharging stationincludes an evaporator containing in an inner space a quantity of thevolatile liquid in the condensed form thereof, for transferring, whenthe storage part is connected to the discharging station and the innerspace of the reactor part is in communication with the inner space inthe evaporator, gas phase of the volatile liquid to the reactor part, sothat the reactor part is discharged in the same way as in a chemicalheat pump, the active substance then being transferred to a dischargedstate by absorption of the volatile liquid.
 2. An installation accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the matrix is of an inert material, inparticular including at least aluminium oxide.
 3. An installationaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the matrix is made from amaterial comprising pores which are permeable to the volatile liquid andin which the active substance is applied
 4. An installation according toclaim 1, characterized in that the matrix is made from a material havinga surface at which the active substance in its liquid state can bebonded, in particular having a surface that is wet by the activesubstance in the liquid state thereof and/or the volatile liquid in theliquid state thereof.
 5. An installation according to claim 1,characterized in that the matrix is made from a material comprisingseparate particles, in particular a powder or a compressed fibre tomaterial.
 6. An installation according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe matrix has the shape of a layer of material applied to a surface ofthe first heat exchanger.
 7. An installation according to claim 1,characterized in that the matrix together with the active substance heldtherein is enclosed in a restricting structure, in particular a netdevice comprising at least a net or a cloth of a fibre material.
 8. Aninstallation according to claim 1, characterized in that the condenseror the similar device comprises a vacuum pump
 9. An installationaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the storage part includes acontainer, in which at least one reactor vessel is placed.
 10. Aninstallation according to claim 1, characterized in that the storagepart includes a container, in which a plurality of reactor vessels areplaced and interconnected.
 11. An installation according to claim 10,characterized in that said plurality of reactor vessels includesubstantially identical tubular units that at one end are interconnectedby a collector tube.
 12. An installation according to claim 10,characterized in that said plurality of reactor vessels includesubstantially identical plate-shaped units that at one end areinterconnected by a collector tube.
 13. An installation according toclaim 9, characterized in that said at least one reactor vessel or saidplurality of reactor vessels is/are arranged for heat exchange with anexternal medium, that can, when the storage part is connected to acharging station or a discharging station, be circulating in thecontainer around the individual reactor vessels.
 14. An installationaccording to claim 13, characterized in that the container includes twocoupling pipes, that are arranged to supply, when the storage part isconnected to a charging station or a discharging station, to a space inthe container around said plurality of reactor vessels an externalmedium for heat exchange with said plurality of reactor vessels, and toremove, respectively, the external medium from the space.
 15. Aninstallation according to claim 1, characterized in that the chargingstation and the discharging station are the same station.
 16. Aninstallation for storing and/or transporting energy and production ofclean quantities of a volatile liquid, in particular water, theinstallation comprising a charging station, a discharging station and astorage part, the charging stating and the storage part having couplingdevices for connecting inner spaces existing inside them to one another,the discharging stating and the storage part having coupling devices forconnecting inner spaces existing inside them to one another, and thestorage part containing in an inner space an active substance forinteraction with a volatile liquid by absorption and desorption thereof,characterized in that the discharging station includes an evaporatorcontaining in an inner space a quantity of the volatile liquid in thecondensed form thereof, for transferring, when the storage part isconnected to the discharging station and the inner space of the reactorpart is in communication with the inner space in the evaporator, gasphase of the volatile liquid to the reactor part, so that the reactorpart is discharged in the same way as in chemical heat pump, the activesubstance then being transferred to a discharged state by absorption ofthe volatile liquid, and that the charging station includes a condenserfor receiving, when the storage part is connected to the chargingstation and the inner space of the reactor part is communication with aninner space of the condenser, from the reactor part gas phase of thevolatile liquid, so that the reactor part is charged in the same way asin chemical heat pump, the active substance then being transferred to acharged state by desorption of the volatile liquid, said inner space ofthe condenser being separated from said inner space of the evaporator,said inner space of the evaporator being arranged to receive, beforeconnection of the discharging station to the storage part, a quantity ofthe volatile liquid in the liquid phase thereof, in particular aquantity of the volatile liquid in an unclean form, and a tapping devicefor tapping off the quantity of liquid being the liquid phase, thatexists in said inner space in the condenser after the charging stationhas been connected to the storage part for charging the activesubstance, in order to use or handle said quantity of liquid.
 17. Aninstallation according to claim 16, characterized in that the storagepart is made as a reactor part of a chemical heat pump, the activesubstance in the reactor part and the volatile liquid selected, so thatthe volatile liquid that can be absorbed by the active substance at afirst temperature and desorbed by the active substance at a secondhigher temperature, the active substance having at the first temperaturea solid state from which the active substance when absorbing thevolatile liquid and the vapour phase thereof immediately or directlypartly changes to a liquid state or a solution phase and at the secondtemperature has a liquid state or exists in a solution phase, from whichthe active substance when releasing the volatile liquid, in particularthe vapour phase thereof, directly changes partly to a solid state, andthe reactor part contains a matrix for the active substance, so that theactive substance both in its solid state and in its liquid phase orsolution phase is held and/or is bonded to the matrix.
 18. A method ofstoring and/or transport of energy and production of clean quantities ofa volatile liquid, in particular water, comprising. that a storage partwhich in an inner space contains an active substance for interactionwith the volatile liquid by absorption and desorption thereof, issupplied with energy for transferring the active substance to thecharged state thereof having no absorbed volatile liquid, that thestorage part thereafter is discharged for transferring the activesubstance to the discharged state thereof including absorbed volatileliquid for using the stored energy, characterized in that intransferring the active substance to the charged state thereof having noabsorbed volatile liquid the volatile absorbed liquid is transferred tothe gas phase thereof, which after condensing gives a quantity of cleanvolatile liquid.
 19. A method according to claim 18, characterized inthat when the storage part is discharged for transferring the activesubstance to the discharged state thereof the energy stored in thestorage part is used for delivering heating or cooling.
 20. A methodaccording to claim 18, characterized in that after the storage part hasbeen supplied with energy for transferring the active substance to thecharged state thereof, the storage part is stored separately from or ata distance of the place, where the supplying of energy has beenexecuted, and/or is transported away from this place.
 21. A methodaccording to claim 18, characterized in that in discharging the activesubstance, the storage part is connected to a discharging stationcomprising an evaporator, that in an inner space contains a quantity ofthe volatile liquid in the condensed state thereof, in particular aquantity of the volatile liquid in unclean farm, to transfer, when theinner space in the storage part is in communication with the inner spacein the evaporator, to the storage part pure gas phase of the volatileliquid, so that the active substance in the storage part is dischargedin the same way as in a chemical heat pump.
 22. A method according toclaim 18, characterized in that in charging the active substance, thestorage part is connected to a charging station comprising a condenserto receive, when the inner space in the storage part is in communicationwith the inner space in the condenser, from the storage part gas phaseof the volatile liquid and condense to the liquid phase thereof, so thatthe active substance in the storage part is charged in the same way asin a chemical heat pump, the active substance being transferred to acharged state by desorption of the volatile liquid, whereafter the innerspace of the condenser contains a quantity of the volatile liquid in thepure form thereof.